The EAUX Suffolk Show Guide

The county’s biggest two day pop-up event brings the pleasures of living, relaxation and working in one of the most popular areas of the UK together

The Suffolk Show

27-28th May

Trinity Park, Ipswich

Under 15s can enter for free and you can bring your dog!

In a recent survey, Visit England found that more than 70 percent of visitors to Suffolk, flanked by its beautiful unspoilt coastline, made repeat visits.

Why? The Suffolk Show reveals the secrets in this high quality, family hands-on activity and entertainment extravaganza held during half-term week May 27-28th, 2015.

Organised by the Suffolk Agricultural Association, the show has agriculture at its heart, and is so keen to deliver the food and farming message that it invites all aged under 15 to enter for free. While principally Suffolk is an arable county, the show maintains some of the highest levels of livestock entries from all over the country and attracts breed societies including the Red Poll Cattle who host their own competitions. The Grand Parade, held daily showcasing all the winners in class proudly sporting colourful rosettes, is a rarely seen spectacle outside shows that is not to be missed.

Expect to see more than 2500 livestock and equine shown in a packed programme across nine showing rings. Among the 300 equine classes will be top international show jumping, many of the jumps in the major competitions are over 5ft tall, qualifiers for both Olympia and Horse of the Year Show as well as the new Amateur Ridden Hunter classes which qualify for the Royal International Horse Show.

The show always has an impressive turnout of heavy horses representing most of the major breeds and is one of the few places to see so many in one place.

For the first time in the show’s history there is horsepower of a different nature. Lancaster of Colchester will be bringing top marque vehicles an – F12 California T Ferrari, a Bentley and Maserati will be displayed in the new luxury lawn retail area near the bandstand adjacent to the new destination for the Art Show.

Too much activity? The Military Discovery Zone, with representation from military charities and recruiters, has a tethered hot air balloon to escape at least 100 feet off the ground to take in the scale of the show from above.

There’s top quality ring entertainment from the Devil’s Horsemen stuntmen, many who have worked on TVs Game of Thrones, War Horse and the film Les Miserables. The Mascot Derby features representatives from the region’s attractions and businesses and there is entertainment in the Avenues from Covent Garden style street entertainers, the Jitterbug Dancers, mighty 8ft dancing Titan or, at children’s height, cute Sheridan the talking sheepdog on a bicycle.

Advanced discounted tickets are on sale until midnight on May
26 priced £6 for 15-18s, £21 for adults and £19 for seniors,
£4 parking.

Farm Discovery Zone

Show director and Bury St Edmunds farmer Bill Baker is keen to point out that agriculture is very much a modern career choice and is not just all about sitting on tractors, but embracing some world class developing technologies – drones, precision drilling and biosciences – as well as food development, marketing and green energies and the industry’s many allied industries.

Nothing demonstrates this better than the dedicated Farm Discovery Zone. It’s highly successful inaugural year last year saw families having a go at farming activities and caught the attention of HRH Prince Harry who visited the Show and helped make a pizza!

Here you can see and hear chicks noisily pecking their way out of their shells in a hatchery, an original steam tractor which replaced the Suffolk Punch horse, discover why rare breeds are so important, and sit in the cab of the latest agricultural machinery. The Suffolk Young Farmers host digger games, making a bale sculpture and a lot more antics that demonstrate farming is fun and ‘cool.’ Colleges are also on hand to talk apprenticeships, courses and career opportunities, many on our doorstep.

Food and Drink at the Show

Suffolk has an enviable reputation for food. The area has some amazing local growers and producers making inspirational foods and drinks and supplying quality raw ingredients to top brands and national supermarkets and high end delicatessens.

Adnams Food and Drink Experience is the place to try before you buy. Tantalise your tastebuds with handmade chocolates, delicious pies and sausages including Heck gluten free, as seen on The Fixer, to take home for supper; soft drinks, coffees and cordials as well as a new brassica, relishes, oils and preserves, gourmet chocolate brownies and more.

Relax to the music and sample delicious foods freshly prepared in the street food styled Greene King Eat Street. Here, friends and family can discover new and different flavours and sit together but all eat something different – a parent’s delight!

Homes and gardens and lifestyle

This year the Hopkins Homes Luxurious Lifestyle Pavilion, with its inspirational room sets and designers, has relocated to beside the Flower and Garden Experience, with its new sponsor Bury St Edmunds based Glasswells, and now adjoining the Homes Village, to become the one stop destination for home and garden design and styling.

You can even buy a new house at the Hopkins stand, order a tennis court or kitchen cupboard. Don’t forget to admire the stunning displays in the flower arrangement competition or stop by the many nursery, seed and plant companies which feature several new and locally based companies.

After all that shopping be sure to stop by the tea tent for a reviving cream tea and glass of Prosecco from Bay Tree Catering!

Don’t miss live music on the trailer from Soul Kitchen on the first day as the sun goes down.

Pop-up retail

If you love shopping, this year’s show is bigger, with a more diverse range, than any high street. Many items are only sold through the county shows and online, so here is the chance to snap up something different and even bespoke!

Purchase everything from the biggest state-of-the-art agricultural machinery to beautiful and inspirational flowers, outdoor clothing, great artwork, things for the home, the animals and the family, not to mention delicious food and drink.

Bedecked in pink carpet Fifth Avenue is the go-to destination for the best of British fashion. Expect to find Carl Scapa, Holland Cooper, Liberty Kelly, SLC-SLC, Recipy, Laura Jane, Bohm and Bee, Hannah Stowe, Coco Brown and Gallyons among the extended rows of leading brands.

For more information or to buy tickets online visit www.suffolkshow.co.uk